so when does everyone start camping out?

[Khobbs1]

with most of the "big" ads now out, when will people begin camping out and what store?

[firegirl719]

I know in my area the only camping that goes on is at Best Buy.  That usually starts about 3 days before Thanksgiving.  As for me, I'll be at home basting the ol' turkey.  No camping for this girl!

[1angelnhvn]

No camping for me either.  We usually head out to wherever we want to go a few hours before the store we want to go to opens but this year still not seeing any must haves to get anywhere early!  Going to try to do most of my stuff online if I can.

[Jen08]

Absolutely no camping for me!!! I'd rather be home with my family as well.  Around here though, we don't have anyone that camps out.  Then again, places like Best Buy, where people do camp out is a good 30 minutes from me.  Even so, I don't think they'll have anyone camp out there either.  If they do then it will be someone who gets there maybe late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.  I've never seen anyone camping out around here.

[mcwalker]

I have never camped.  While there are still people camping each year, I think the number of campers and the justification has significantly reduced with changes in pricing and availability, online shopping, and the earlier shopping hours.  I might be in line an hour before a 6 PM opening (or maybe not), but that is about it.

[bribri25]

I can't justify leaving family on Turkey Day that early.  I usually don't leave the house until stores start opening (used to go 2 hours before when they actually opened on Black Friday), but I do hope to get 80% before the turkey is even in the oven.

 

Oh, and never camped; just the few hours before.  Camping in Wisconsin takes a special talent, dedication, .....and an RV with a heater. 

[sngglebnny]

I love camping out for Black Friday!  I started five or six years ago out of necessity.  I worked for a medium-sized company that had a really awesome Christmas party.  The main focus was the gifts you could win, so we BF shopped for those gifts in order to stay in budget.  

 

My first BF I shopped at Best Buy.  I showed up 2 hours before the store opened and was so far back in line that I didn't get a ticket to get exactly what we set out to get.  It was so cold that year. The store wall blocked the wind, but the concrete was too cold to sit on - still I made friends in the cold misery.  I drank nothing so I wouldn't have to pee.  In the end, I drove to Walmart because it opened two hours later than Best Buy that year.  Walmart had made lines in the store aisle and we were warm and cozy, if not bored, but I found exactly what we needed.

 

As the stores opened earlier and earlier, I found that I needed to get in line earlier as well.  In 2013 (I didn't shop last year), I was too anxious to sleep the night before Thanksgiving, so I packed up my Black Friday camping gear and went to Target at 11pm.  I was the first in line and it felt so good.  The second person came an hour later, but the third person didn't show up until 6am Thanksgiving morning.  So, I'm guessing that 14 hours out is a good start time for camping, unless your goal is to be first.

 

I've been first...I felt like I won!  As long as I get what I came for now, then I'm fine.

 

 

[bribri25]

I love camping out for Black Friday!  I started five or six years ago out of necessity.  I worked for a medium-sized company that had a really awesome Christmas party.  The main focus was the gifts you could win, so we BF shopped for those gifts in order to stay in budget.  

 

My first BF I shopped at Best Buy.  I showed up 2 hours before the store opened and was so far back in line that I didn't get a ticket to get exactly what we set out to get.  It was so cold that year. The store wall blocked the wind, but the concrete was too cold to sit on - still I made friends in the cold misery.  I drank nothing so I wouldn't have to pee.  In the end, I drove to Walmart because it opened two hours later than Best Buy that year.  Walmart had made lines in the store aisle and we were warm and cozy, if not bored, but I found exactly what we needed.

 

As the stores opened earlier and earlier, I found that I needed to get in line earlier as well.  In 2013 (I didn't shop last year), I was too anxious to sleep the night before Thanksgiving, so I packed up my Black Friday camping gear and went to Target at 11pm.  I was the first in line and it felt so good.  The second person came an hour later, but the third person didn't show up until 6am Thanksgiving morning.  So, I'm guessing that 14 hours out is a good start time for camping, unless your goal is to be first.

 

I've been first...I felt like I won!  As long as I get what I came for now, then I'm fine.

 

I love reading about experiences like this and how everything unfolded from the camping.  How cold was it in 2013? Did you get any sleep in the tent?

I bet it felt great that #2 only came an hour later and made it worth getting out there when you did to make it first, huh?

[elena_398]

I don't camp out. Used to when my kid were younger (they are now 21 and 15 1/2).   When they wanted toys, I was known to be in line at Toys R Us .  lol

[barbd02]

I've never camped out. The closest is being at a store a few hours before they opened - sometimes out of desire to get an item, sometimes because of timing. I rememeber when stores would stagger their opening times - I loved it. I could hit almost every single store I wanted and be one of the first few in line.

 

I really thought that was the best plan because I used to see the same people at every store. Now people have to choose where to go. I talk to people in line and they all say the same, "Well, since I wanted A,B, and C, I came here. I won't have time to go to store Z so, I'll just pay a few dollars more here and get it." Now, I'm not in retail, but I'd think if a person came to my store for one thing on BF, chances are they'd grab a few more items, so I'd want to do anything I could to get them there - even if it meant opening later than the other stores by an hour or so. Let them go to store Z and then come to store X when they finish.

[totallyBF]

noon thanksgiving day

[bribri25]

noon thanksgiving day

Where at? What are you after?

[tjhollis]

I'm camping out right here on my couch in front of the laptop at 12am Thanksgiving morning. 

[jaymacfla]

Here in the south, the campouts can be longer but the exact time of our arrival is a closely guarded secret. camping in different areas of the country arose from certain factors. If you have a lot of students, then they would always get the laptops, and they always knew exactly how long they could arrive to ensure that their efforts would be awarded. If it wasn't the students, then it was the military personnel who also had extra time off. You had to study them and learn what their breaking point was. For the military, it was usually about 24 hours, depending upon their return trip distance to base. For students, they could last anywhere from one to three days, but usually one or two because they were ill-prepared for the long haul. If you go past this point, you are camping, whether you realize it or not.